Box Tops and Big Star guitarist and singer Alex Chilton, deeply influential to scores of musicians, died suddenly on Wednesday of what appears to have been a heart attack. Chilton, who was to perform with Big Star on Saturday at SXSW in Austin, was 59.
The Associated Press and Rolling Stone report that Chilton was taken to a New Orleans hospital complaining of chest pains.
Chilton made an early impact with the Box Tops in the late Sixties, scoring explosive hits like "The Letter" and "Cry Like A Baby." Chilton's next act was Big Star in the 70s, a group that never garnered commercial success, but became the template for scores of bands and musicians who came to regard Chilton as the patron saint of power pop cool. The Replacements famously recorded a song in his honor, "Alex Chilton," and Wilco and R.E.M. have cited Big Star's influence. Artists ranging from Elliot Smith to The Bangles to The Clientele have covered Chilton's songs over the years.
A panel scheduled at SXSW on Saturday afternoon discussing Big Star's influence, which was to include the participation of drummer Jody Stephens and bassist Andy Hummel, is still scheduled, though it will be likely be reconfigured as a tribute to the singer.
In a statement SXSW Creative Director Brent Grulke said: “Alex Chilton always messed with your head, charming and amazing you while doing so. His gift for melody was second to none, yet he frequently seemed in disdain of that gift. He seemed as troubled by neglect as he did by fame. He wrote the most accessible pop songs that turned into something quite sour on closer reflection. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. But it was always worth pondering, because that’s what a truly great artist makes us do. And make no mistake: Alex Chilton was an artist of the very highest caliber. It’s too early to do much but cry about our loss right now, but he’ll be missed, and missed more as the ages pass and his myth continues to expand — that music isn’t going anywhere. R.I.P. and thank you, friend.”
